Media alignment is important in a self-service terminal (SST) and a SST module that receives media items from a user. One type of SST module that benefits from media alignment is a banknote deposit module. Another type of SST module that benefits from media alignment is a banknote recycler module (that is, a module that can receive a banknote from one customer and can then dispense the received banknote to a subsequent customer).
To provide optimal loading in such a module, it is typically desirable to centralize a media item (such as a banknote) with respect to an entrance to a deposit bin or recycler cassette (the “store entrance”). This ensures optimal filling of the bin or cassette. However, a module typically receives different sizes of banknote (due to different sizes of denominations within one currency, or different currencies), so aligning a media item with the store entrance may require the media item to be moved by a different amount, depending on the size of the media item.
A further complication in loading a media item into the store entrance is that the media item may become skewed as it is transported through the module. It would be advantageous to deskew the media item in addition to centralizing the media item, thereby providing more efficient and reliable loading of the deposit bin or recycler cassette.